Agenda Text
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Requesting adoption of an amendment to Ordinance 12-14 to grant licensing authority to the Licensing Commission for restaurants outdoor seating on the public way.
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Official Text
To the Honorable City Council:
I hereby submit for your Honorable City Council's consideration and approval an amendment to Ordinance 12-14, to grant licensing authority to the Licensing Commission for restaurants’ outdoor seating on the public way.
As you know, the City and State will be ending the State of Emergency on June 15, and we are all eager to see our local restaurants once again thrive. One feature of the pandemic has been the success of our initiative to support restaurants with the addition of a number of outdoor patios citywide. Our restaurant operators have responded with a variety of creative patios that have been welcomed by the public, and are likely to remain a popular fixture here if we continue to support it. Pre-pandemic, the City Council had the authority to approve a restaurant’s outdoor seating on public property, but last year the Council chose to authorize the Licensing Commission to take on that task with the adoption of an Order (#210264). The Licensing Commission responded nimbly and proved to be very supportive of our local businesses. In response, the Council extended the Commission’s authority through December 31, 2021 (#210642).
I hereby propose an amendment to municipal Ordinance 12-14 to permanently grant licensing authority to the Licensing Commission for restaurants’ outdoor seating on the public way. This is accomplished by simply adding the following sentence after the first sentence of that Ordinance: “The Licensing Commission shall hereby be duly authorized to permit an establishment licensed by said Commission to place outdoor seating and accessories thereto on the public way adjacent to said establishment.”
The City Council will continue to be the licensing authority for other requests to maintain any item on or over the public way.
Pending your Honorable Council’s approval, the Ordinance as amended would be as follows:
Sec. 12-14. - Signs, awnings, outdoor seating and other items on or over streets and sidewalks.
No person shall, except in accordance with a permit from the city council or as otherwise duly authorized, place, make or maintain any gate, table, stall, booth or other erection, signs, goods, wares, outdoor seating, doorstep, portico, porch, bow window, entrance or passageway to a cellar or basement, opening or area for admitting light or air, or any other article or structure on any street or sidewalk, or maintain such articles or structures in such a manner as to project or swing into or over any street or sidewalk. The Licensing Commission shall hereby be duly authorized to permit an establishment licensed by said Commission to place outdoor seating and accessories thereto on the public way adjacent to said establishment. Any permit granted under this section for the purpose of placing and maintaining adjacent to a licensed establishment outdoor seating on a public sidewalk shall expire on the 31st day of December in the year in which it is granted. No permit shall be granted unless the petitioner files with the city clerk a bond in the sum of $5,000.00 to indemnify and save the city harmless from all liability and loss arising out of such permit or, in the alternative, designate the city as an additional insured on the petitioner's general liability, property and casualty insurance coverage. However, with the written permission of the mayor, in accordance with the terms of such permission, any person may suspend the flag of the United States of America or the flag of any country allied with the United States of America or any flag indicating military or naval services of the United States of America over any street or sidewalk.
I have been assured that the Chair of the Licensing Commission is on board with this amendment, and is pleased that it will reduce the administrative burden on our restaurants.
My staff will be available to answer any questions you may have. Thank you for your consideration of this matter.
Respectfully Submitted,
Joseph A. Curtatone, Mayor